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Learn Spanish Foreign Service Institute

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What do you do every day? What is your daily routine? These are two common questions to ask acerca someone's daily routine - the daily routine. We can think of many Including Several of the ones we covered in the previous lesson. This one will teach you how to describe your daily routine, "describe your daily routine", by using reflexive and non-reflexive verbs and other key vocabulary. By the end of the lesson, we expect that you 'are reliable to write and talk about prep your daily routine in Spanish.

La rutina diaria en español – Daily activities in Spanish and reflexive verbs.

First, we will review the vocabulary for daily activities. The video below explains how to conjugate reflexive verbs and use them to make sentences about daily routines,  how to ask what someone does  every day and more. The final part is a description of what someone does in a typical day. Everything is in Spanish but it is slow so it is easy to follow and also includes many important things you will not find in the rest of the lesson. You can activate the subtitles (cc) if needed.

Talking about your daily routine in Spanish: key phrases ad questions

Most activities, “actividades”, are verbs in infinitive like JUGAR (to play) or COMER (to eat), and sometimes  such as DESPERTARSE (wake up) and VESTIRSE (get dressed). In the first example, we will read and listen to a person talking about his morning routine, “la rutina de la mañana”. Sequencing words like “Primero” (first), “Luego” (then), “Antes de” (before), “Después de” (after) and “Finalmente”(finally) are used to connect the sentences in order to make a more complete description of a routine. Pay attention to the way the verbs in the box are used to make meaningful sentences and a complete paragraph.

Wake up, get up, bathe, eat breakfast, brushing, dressing, leave, come back.
Describing my routine - Describing my routine my daily routine in Spanish My name is Ben. I wake up at six o'clock. First I get up and then I take a bath for 10 minutes. Before breakfast I brush my teeth and get dressed. Then I breakfast with my brothers and my parents. Finally I go to school and back to my house at noon. Read My daily routine translation My name is Ben. I wake up at six o'clock. First I get up and take a shower then a I for 10 minutes. Before breakfast I brush my teeth and get dressed. Then I have breakfast with my brothers and my parents. Finally I go to school and come back home at noon.

Since this person was talking about his own routine, he used sentences with the structure “Yo me verb complement”. As you can see the verbs DESAYUNAR and REGRESAR do not need before them because both of them are non-reflexive verbs, unlike the remaining DESPERTARSE or any of the others ending in -SE. For the verb IR, both “Yo me voy…” and “Yo voy…” are possible. Here is a second example, but this time  including some of the vocabulary for  and , as well as frequency adverbs such as “Siempre” (always), “De vez en cuando” (sometimes) and “A veces” (sometimes).

Do lunch, rest, doing homework, studying, watching TV, playing, like, help, cleaning, washing, play.
Describing my routine - Describing my routine my daily routine in Spanish I do many activities every day. I go to school in the morning. After returning lunch and rest for an hour. Then I do my homework and study for the next day. I like watching TV and playing video games. I also like sports like soccer and baseball occasionally. I always help clean the house, wash the dishes and do the household chores. Sometimes I go to the movies with my friends or play together. Read My daily routine translation I do many activities every day. I go to school in the morning. After returning I eat lunch and rest for an hour. Then I do my homework and study for the next day. I like watching TV and playing video games. I also like playing sports like soccer and baseball Sometimes. I always help to clean the house, wash the dishes and do the household chores. Sometimes I go to the movies with my friends or play together.

To talk about the activities that other people do every day, we will need to use a different reflexive pronoun as the subject will be different too. You can even say if a person has an interesting (interesante), simple (sencilla) or busy (ocupada) routine. Besides you can combine sentences about your own routine with sentences about others, eg. “Yo me levanto temprano y él se levanta tarde” (I get up early and he gets up late). Normally, all you need to know is which verbs will behave in a reflexive way and which will not. It all comes to practice and seeing examples so here is one more for you to learn a few more things.

Do, have, get up, cook, help, get ready, go, do chores, eat dinner, sleep.
Describing my routine - Describing my routine Our daily routine in Spanish I do many activities every day. I have two children, a boy and a girl. I get up at 6 in the morning, cook breakfast for us and helped my children to get ready to go to school. Marcos bathes and dresses alone. Rosa does many things for herself. I go to my work at 8 in the morning. When we return chores together and had dinner. Children sleep at 10 pm. Overall it is a very busy routine. Read translation Our daily routine I do many activities every day. I have two children, a boy and a girl. I get up at 6 in the morning, cook breakfast for us and help my children get ready for school. Marcos bathes and dresses himself. Rosa does many things by herself. I go to my work at 8 in the morning. When we return we do the chores together and have dinner. The children go to sleep at 10pm. In general it is a busy routine ..

Listening activity: My daily routine in Spanish – Mi rutina diaria

Listen to a conversation about someone’s daily routine – “la rutina diaria de alguien”. The expressions in the conversation are very similar to the ones in the examples so it may not be difficult to follow. Make sure to solve the interactive quizzes to reinforce your knowledge about the topic.
Listening quiz: A busy daily routine - Una rutina ocupada Please wait while the activity loads. If this activity does not load, try refreshing your browser. Also, this page requires javascript. Please visit using a browser with javascript enabled. If loading fails, click here to try again This quiz is about "la rutina diaria de Jasmín". Read each question carefully and answer according to the information provided in the conversation. There is a tip for every correct answer. Press “START” to begin. Start Congratulations - you have completed Listening quiz: A busy daily routine - Una rutina ocupada.You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.We recommend you to %%RATING%% Your answers are highlighted below. Question 1 ¿Cómo es la rutina diaria de Jasmín? -> How is Jasmin's daily routine? A Jasmín tiene una rutina ocupada B Jasmín tiene una rutina sencilla C Jasmín tiene una rutina normal Question 1 Explanation:  Jasmin tells her friend that she has a busy day all the time so the expression"Busy routine" (busy routine) is the right answer. Question 2 Which of these activities does after getting up? -> Which of these activities she does not do after getting up? A Bathing Brush teeth B C Exercise Question 2 Explanation: Notice That many of These activities are reflexive verbs whos acting like nouns. That's how we refer to everyday activities in general. Of course, we Have Seen That reflexive verbs change These eleven are used in sentences They. In This case, she Mentioned That "she exercises after getting up" so "exercise" is the right answer. Question 3 Which of these activities can Ema according Jasmin? -> Which of these activities is to do Ema reliable ACCORDING TO Jasmin? A Ema kitchen breakfast B Ema gets her single school uniform C Ema sleep early Question 3 Explanation: Ema is a little girl or "a little girl" according to the conversation, but she can put on her school uniform by herself, " Put on the uniform".This activity is part of most children´s daily routine. Question 4 ¿Qué hace Jasmín antes de ir a trabajar? -> What does Jasmin do before going to work? A Limpiar la casa B Lavar los platos C Cocinar el desayuno. Question 4 Explanation:  Jasmin mentions that she cooks breakfast and eat with her children before going to work. Notice that these activities are not stated as reflexive verbs but it is still possible to say "Tengo que cocinarte el desayuno" (I have to cook breakfast for you). Keep in mind that the main activities here are "Cocinar", "limpiar" and "Lavar" Question 5 ¿En qué actividad diaria le ayudan los niños a Jasmín? -> What activity do the children do to help Jasmin? A Los niños le ayudan a regar las plantas B Los niños le ayudan a limpiar la casa C Los niños le ayudan a lavar la ropa. Question 5 Explanation:  They help Jasmin to clean the house - limpiar la casa. In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun "le", which corresponds to "ella", is used to refer to Jasmin. Wecould use this structure to create sentences like "Ellos nos ayudan siempre" (They help us always). The point with Spanish reflexive pronouns is that they always tell us who is affected by the verb. Once you are finished, click the button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect. Get Results There are 5 questions to complete. ← List → Return Shaded items are complete. 1 2 3 4 5 End Return You have completed questions question Your score is Correct Wrong Partial-Credit You have not finished your quiz. If you leave this page, your progress will be lost. Correct Answer You Selected Not Attempted Final Score on Quiz Attempted Questions Correct Attempted Questions Wrong Questions Not Attempted Total Questions on Quiz Question Details Results Date Score Hint Time allowed minutes seconds Time used Answer Choice(s) Selected Question Text All done review this lesson… continue studying this lesson! review this lesson and find more important points. Studying a lessonrelated to this topic may be useful too. continue learning ! Good work! keep up the good work! Perfect!
Conversation Script: Speaking of your routine in Spanish
Leo: Jasmine, do you think we can work on the project tomorrow? Jasmine: Well ... Leo, I can not because I have to do several things. Leo: Okay! I think you have a busy routine ... Jasmine: Yeah, I get up early in the morning. After I shower, I brush my teeth, put on makeup and get dressed to go to work. Then I help children get ready for school. Did you know that Emma and combing alone and puts on his uniform? Leo: Really? Emma is a very intelligent girl. And Roger can too? Jasmine: Yes, well. Then I cook breakfast and eat together. Then they go to school and I go to work. Leo: I imagine you end up tired at the end of the day. Jasmine: Yes, the good news is that children help me clean the house and wash the dishes. Leo: Great! Well ... What do you think if we work on the project next week? Jasmine: I think good idea ...

Practice: Writing about your daily routine

Someone's routine in Spanish - La rutina de alguien Please wait while the activity loads. If this activity does not load, try refreshing your browser. Also, this page requires javascript. Please visit using a browser with javascript enabled. If loading fails, click here to try again This quiz will require you to complete a girl's daily routine in Spanish. It is a great exercise to practice reflexive pronouns and verbs, and learn some new things about this topic. Press “START” to begin. Start Congratulations - you have completed Someone's routine in Spanish - La rutina de alguien .You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.We recommend you to %%RATING%% Your answers are highlighted below. Question 1 1. Ana es una muchacha muy inteligente. Primero, ella ______________ por la mañana. A Levantar temprano B Se levanta temprano C Levantando temprano Question 1 Explanation:  Here we need the reflexive pronoun “se” “levanta”(get up) to make clear that Ana is the person getting up. If I weretalking about me, I would say “Yo me levanto” and so on. When “levantar” means “to lift”, we do not need a reflexive pronoun, for example: “Ella levanta las cajas”. Question 2 2. Luego, ella ___________________________. A se limpia su casa y se lava los platos B limpia su casa y lava los platos C limpiar su casa y lavar los platos Question 2 Explanation:  We don’t need a reflexive pronoun when the verb does not affect us directly. If you look at the sentence, she washes the dishes and cleans the house, which means the verbs are affecting the dishes and the house. On the other hand, if we meant “I wash my hair every day”, then we have to use a reflexive pronoun to say “Yo me lavo el pelo todos los días”. Question 3 3. Después, Ana____________________ para ir a trabajar. A se baña, se viste y se alista B bañarse, vestirse y alistarse C baña, viste y alista Question 3 Explanation:  Again, Ana is the person taking the shower (bañándose), getting dressed (vistiéndose) and getting ready(alistándose) so we need a reflexive pronoun for each verb. Remember that we use a different reflexive pronoun for each subject pronoun. Question 4 4. Luego de salir del trabajo, ella _________________________________ para cocinar la cena. A regresar casa, ir a la tienda y comprando lo que necesita B regresarse a la casa, irse a la tienda y comprarse lo que necesita C regresa a la casa, va a la tienda y compra lo que necesita. Question 4 Explanation:  In this case the reflexive pronoun is optional, so we could say “regresa a casa, va a la tienda...” or “se regresa a casa, se va a la tienda....”. However, we could not use the verbs in infinitive like in the first sentence or use reflexive verbs like “regresarse, irse....” because it doesn’t make sense with the rest of the sentence. Question 5 5. Ana cena con su familia y por último ella ___________________. A lee un libro y se va a dormir B se lee un libro e irse a dormir C leer un libro e ir a dormir. Question 5 Explanation:  We do notneed a reflexive pronoun with the verb “leer” (to read), and we can’t use a reflexive verb or one in infinitive after the subject pronoun “ella”. Notice that all these sentences are connected by sequence adverbs like “primero” (first), “luego”(then), “después”(after) and “por último”(finally). Once you are finished, click the button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect. Get Results There are 5 questions to complete. ← List → Return Shaded items are complete. 1 2 3 4 5 End Return You have completed questions question Your score is Correct Wrong Partial-Credit You have not finished your quiz. If you leave this page, your progress will be lost. Correct Answer You Selected Not Attempted Final Score on Quiz Attempted Questions Correct Attempted Questions Wrong Questions Not Attempted Total Questions on Quiz Question Details Results Date Score Hint Time allowed minutes seconds Time used Answer Choice(s) Selected Question Text All done review this lesson… continuestudying this lesson! review this lesson and find more important points. Studying a lesson related to this topic may be useful too. continue learning! Good work! keep up the good work! Perfect!
Write a paragraph describing your own daily routine. If it is possible, share it with a native speaker and ask him about his as well. 
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